Mary Firebaugh Swaney Stuntz, 1892-1994
FIREBAUGH, SWANEY, STUNTZ, TRACY, ROGERS, HERRMANN, WEHR, STILES, KNUTH
Posted By: Pat Ryan White (email)
Date: 2/13/2021 at 19:24:12
MARY (FIREBAUGH) SWANEY STUNTZ
Mary Swaney Stuntz, 102, of St. Petersburg, Fla., a former resident of Mt. Pleasant, died Oct. 7, 1994.
Born Jan.3, 1892, in O'Neill, Neb., she was the daughter of John W. and Mary Tracy Firebaugh. On June 16, 1915, in Tacoma, Wash., she married Gilmore D. Swaney, who preceded her in death on July 19, 1916. On July 30, 1982, in Mt. Pleasant, she married Dr. Hugh C. Stuntz, who preceded her in death on Sept. 12, 1991.
She attended school in Mt. Pleasant and was a graduate of Iowa Wesleyan College in 1912. The college honored her in 1980 with an Honorary Doctor of Letters.
Following her graduation from college, she began a teaching career in Oakville, Wapello, and Tacoma, Wash., later returning to Brighton, Iowa. She was the Principal of Mt. Pleasant High School from 1917 to 1920.
She was the last living Founder of the National T.T.T. Society, one of six young women who organized the philanthropic society in 1911.
In 1920, under the aegis of the Methodist Church, she became an educational missionary, teaching at Santiago College for Women in Santiago, Chile. She later became the director of the school and was largely responsible for purchasing a new site for the school and building a new campus.
In 1932, she returned to the U.S. and received her Master's Degree from Columbia University. She served as Dean at the Ohio Soldiers and Sailors Orphans Home in Xenia, Ohio. She later became Head Resident of Zonta International House for Women, and also served as a counselor for International Students with the Office of International Relations, Ohio State University.
She returned to Mt. Pleasant in 1960 and renewed her interest and participation in church and fraternal organizations.
She was a member of the First United Methodist Church where she had been a Sunday School teacher; a member of Founders Chapter T.T.T.; Original A, P.E.O. Sisterhood; and Pi Beta Phi.
She is survived by two nephews, W.K. Rogers of Mt. Pleasant, and Cal Herrmann, Richmond, Calif.; three nieces, Mary Louise Wehr and Nancy Rogers Stiles, both of Tucson, Ariz., and Cathie Herrmann Knuth of Woodstock, Ill.; and several great-nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held at the First United Methodist Church, Mt. Pleasant, on Saturday, Oct. 15, at 1 p.m. with the Rev. Deb Kiesey officiating. Interment of the cremains will be private.
Memorial may be made to the National T.T.T. Project Endowment Fund or to the Mary Swaney Stuntz Endowed Scholarship (for an international student) at Iowa Wesleyan College.
("Mt. Pleasant News", Monday, October 10, 1994, page 10)
Gravesite in Forest Home Cemetery
Henry Obituaries maintained by Constance McDaniel Hall.
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